Editor’s Note: This post is part of ACRL TechConnect’s series by our regular and guest authors about The Setupof our work.

After being tagged by Eric Phetteplace, I was pleased to discover that I had been invited to take part in the “This is How I Work” series. I love seeing how other people view work and office life, so I’m happy to see this trend make it to the library world.

Name: Bryan J. Brown (@bryjbrown)

Location: Tallahassee, Florida, United States

Current Gig: Web Developer, Technology and Digital Scholarship, Florida State University Libraries

Current Mobile Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 w/ OtterBox Defender cover (just like Becky Yoose!). It’s too big to fit into my pants pocket comfortably, but I love it so much. I don’t really like tablets, so having a gigantic phone is a nice middle ground.

Current Computer: 15 inch MacBook Pro w/ 8GB of RAM. I’m a Linux person at heart, but when work offers you a free MBP you don’t turn it down. I also use a thunderbolt monitor in my office for dual-screen action.

Current Tablet: 3rd gen. iPad, but I don’t use it much these days. I bought it for reading books, but I strongly prefer to read them on my phone or laptop instead. The iPad just feels huge and awkward to hold.

One word that best describes how you work: Structured. I do my best when I stay within the confines of a strict system and/or routine that I’ve created for myself, it helps me keep the chaos of the universe at bay.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Unixy stuff:

Bash: I’ve tried a few other shells (tcsh, zsh, fish), but none have inspired me to switch.

Vim: I use this for everything, even journal entries and grocery lists. I have *some* customizations, but it’s pretty much stock (except I love my snippets plugin).

Vagrant: The idea of throwaway virtual machines has changed the way I approach development. I do all my work inside Vagrant machines now. When I eventually fudge things, I can just run ‘vagrant destroy’ and pretend it never happened!

Git: Another game changer. I shouldn’t have waited so long to learn about version control. Git has saved my bacon countless times.

Anaconda: I’m a Python fan, but I like Python 3 and the scientific packages. Most systems only have Python 2, and a lot of the scientific packages fail to build for obscure reasons. Anaconda takes care of all that nonsense and allows you to have the best, most current Python goodness on any platform. I find it very comforting to know that I can use my favorite language and packages everywhere no matter what.

Todo.txt-CLI: A command line interface to the Todo.txt system, which I am madly in love with. If you set it to save your list to Dropbox, you can manage it from other devices, too. My work life revolves around my to-do list which I mostly manage at my laptop with Todo.txt-CLI.

Other:

Dropbox: Keeping my stuff in order across machines is a godsend. All my most important files are kept in Dropbox so I can always get to them, and being able to put things in a public folder and share the URL is just awesome.

Google Drive: I prefer Dropbox better for plain storage, but the ability to write documents/spreadsheets/drawings/surveys at will, store them in the cloud, share them with coworkers and have them write along with you is too cool. I can’t imagine working in a pre-Drive world.

Trello: I only recently discovered Trello, but now I use it for everything at work. It’s the best thing for keeping a group of people on track with a large project, and moving cards around is strangely satisfying. Also you can put rocket stickers on cards.

Quicksilver for Mac: I love keyboard shortcuts. A lot. Quicksilver is a Mac app for setting up keyboard shortcuts for everything. All my favorite apps have hotkeys now.

Plain.txt for Android: This one is kind of hard to explain until you use it. It’s a mobile text editor for taking notes that get saved in Dropbox, which is useful in more ways than you can imagine. Plain.txt is my mobile interface to the treasure trove of notes I usually write in Vim on my laptop. I keep everything from meeting notes to recipes (as well as the previously mentioned grocery lists and journal entries) in it. Second only to Todo.txt in helping me stay sane.

What’s your workspace like?

My office is one of my favorite places. A door I can shut, a big whiteboard and lots of books and snacks. Who could ask for more? I’m trying out the whole “standing desk” thing, and slowly getting used to it (but it *does* take some getting used to). My desk is multi-level (it came from a media lab that no longer exists where it held all kinds of video editing equipment), so I have my laptop on a stand and my second monitor on the level above it so that I can comfortably look slightly down to see the laptop or slightly up to see the big display.

What’s your best time-saving trick?

Break big, scary, complicated tasks into smaller ones that are easy to do. It makes it easier to get started and stay on track, which almost always results in getting the big scary thing done way faster than you thought you would.

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?

I am religious about my use of Todo.txt, whether from the command line or with my phone. It’s my mental anchor, and I am obsessive about keeping it clean and not letting things linger for too long. I prioritize things as A (get done today), B (get done this week), C (get done soon), and D (no deadline).

I’m getting into Scrum lately, so my current workflow is to make a list of everything I want to finish this week (my sprint) and mark them as B priority (my sprint backlog, either moving C tasks to B or adding new ones in manually). Then, each morning I pick out the things from the B list that I want to get done today and I move them to A. If some of the A things are complicated I break them into smaller chunks. I then race myself to see if I can get them all done before the end of the day. It turns boring day-to-day stuff into a game, and if I win I let myself have a big bowl of ice cream.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?

Probably a nice, comfy pair of over-the-ear headphones. I hate earbuds, they sound thin and let in all the noise around you. I need something that totally covers my ears to block the outside world and put me in a sonic vacuum.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?

I guess I’m pretty good at the whole “Inbox Zero” thing. I check my email once in the morning and delete/reply/move everything accordingly until there’s nothing left, which usually takes around 15 minutes. Once you get into the habit it’s easy to stay on top.

What are you currently reading?

The Information by James Gleick. I’m reading if for Club Bibli/o, a library technology bookclub. We just started, so you can still join if you like!

Pro Drupal 7 Development by Todd Tomlinson and John K. VanDyk. FSU Libraries is a Drupal shop, so this is my bread and butter. Or at least it will be once I get over the insane learning curve.

Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen. The name says it all, Steve Hagen is great at presenting the core parts of Buddhism that actually help you deal with things without all the one hand clapping nonsense.

What do you listen to while you work?

Classic ambient artists like Brian Eno and Harold Budd are great when I’m in a peaceful, relaxed place, and I’ll listen to classical/jazz if I’m feeling creative. Most of the time though it’s metal, which is great for decimating to-do lists. If I really need to focus on something, any kind of music can be distracting so I just play static from simplynoise.com. This blocks all the sound outside my office and puts me in the zone.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

Introvert for sure. I can be sociable when I need to, but my office is my sanctuary. I really value having a place where I can shut the door and recharge my social batteries.

What’s your sleep routine like?

I’ve been an early bird by necessity since grad school, the morning is the best time to get things done. I usually wake up around 4:30am so I can hit the gym when it opens at 5am (I love having the whole place to myself). I start getting tired around 8pm, so I’m usually fast asleep by 10pm.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.

Do your best. As simple as it sounds, it’s a surprisingly powerful statement. Obviously you can’t do *better* than your best, and if you try your best and fail then there’s nothing to regret. If you just do the best job you can at any given moment you’ll have the best life you can. There’s lots of philosophical loopholes buried that perspective, but it’s worked for me so far.

Current Mobile Device: iPhone 5s. It took me years and years of thinking to finally buy a smart phone, and I did it mainly because my iPod Touch and slightly smart phone were both dying so it could replace both.

Current Computer:

Work: Standard issue Dell running Windows 7, with two monitors.

Home: Home built running Windows 7, in need of an upgrade that I will get around to someday.

Current Tablet: iPad 3, which I use constantly. One useful tip is that I have the Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting, Google Hangout, and Lync apps which really help with participating in video calls and webinars from anywhere.

One word that best describes how you work: Tenaciously

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Outlook and Lync are my main methods of communicating with other library staff. I love working at a place where IMing people is the norm. I use these both on desktop and on my phone and tablet. I love that a recent upgrade means that we can listen to voice mails in our email.

Firefox is my normal work web browser. I tend to use Chrome at home. The main reason for the difference is synced bookmarks. I have moved my bookmarks between browsers so many times that I have some of the original sites I bookmarked when I first used Netscape in the late 90s. Needless to say, very few of the sites still exist, but it reminds me of old hobbies and interests. I also don’t need the login to stream shows from my DVR at in my bookmark toolbar at work.

Evernote I use for taking meeting notes, conference notes, recipes, etc. I usually have it open all day at work.

Instapaper is key to actually reading rather than skimming articles, though of course I am always behind on it.

Box (and Box Sync) is our institutional cloud file storage service, and I use it extensively for all my collaborative projects.

Asana is how we keep track of ongoing projects in the department, and I use it for prioritizing personal projects as well.

What’s your workspace like? :A large room in the basement with two people full time, and assorted student workers working on the scanner. We have pieces of computers sitting around, though moved out an old server rack that was taking up space. (Servers are no longer located in the library but in the campus data centers). My favorite feature is the white board wall behind my desk, which provides enough space to sketch out ideas in progress.

I have a few personal items in the office: a tea towel from the Bodleian Library in Oxford, a reproduction of an antique map of France, Belgium, & Holland, a photo of a fiddlehead fern opening, and small stone frogs to rearrange while I am talking on the phone. I also have a photo of my baby looking at a book, though he’s so much bigger now I need to add additional photos of him. My desk has in tray, out tray, and a book cart shaped business card holder I got at a long ago ALA conference. I am a big proponent of a clean desk, though the later in the semester it gets the more likely I am to have extra papers, but it’s important to my focus to have an empty desk.

There’s usually a lot going on in here and no natural light, so I go outside to work in the summer, or sometimes just to another floor in the building to enjoy the lake view and think through problems.

What’s your best time-saving trick?: Document and schedule routine tasks so I don’t forget steps or when to take care of them. I also have a lot of rules and shortcuts set up in my email so I can process email very quickly and not work out of my inbox. Learn the keyboard shortcuts! I can mainly get through Gmail without touching the mouse and it’s great.

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?: Remember the Milk is how I manage tasks. I’ve been using it for years for Getting Things Done. I pay for it, and so currently have access to the new version which is amazing, but I am sworn to secrecy about its appearance or features. I have a Google Doc presentation I use for Getting Things Done weekly reviews, but just started using an Asana project to track all my ongoing projects in one place without overwhelming Remember the Milk or the Google Doc. It tells me I currently have 74 projects. A few more have come in that I haven’t added yet either.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?: For a few more weeks, my breast pump, which I am not crazy about, but it makes the hard choices of parenting a little bit easier. I used to not be able to live without my Nook until I cut my commute from an hour on the train to a 20 minute walk, so now I need earbuds for the walk. I am partial to Pilot G2 pens, which I use all the time for writing ideas on scrap paper.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?: Keeping my senses of humor and perspective available for problem solving.

What are you currently reading?: How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman (among other things). So far I have learned how Victorians washed themselves, and it makes me grateful for central heating.

What do you listen to while you work?: Podcasts (Roderick on the Line is required listening), mainly when I am doing work that doesn’t require a lot of focus. I listen mostly to full albums on Spotify (I have a paid account), though occasionally will try a playlist if I can’t decide what to listen to. But I much prefer complete albums, and try to stay on top of new releases as well as old favorites.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?: A shy extrovert, though I think I should be an introvert based on the popular perception. I do genuinely like seeing other people, and get restless if I am alone for too long.

What’s your sleep routine like?: I try hard to get in bed at 9:30, but by 10 at the latest. Or ok, maybe 10:15. Awake at 6 or whenever the baby wakes up. (He mostly sleeps through the night, but sometimes I am up with him at 4 until he falls asleep again). I do love sleeping though, so chances to sleep in are always welcome.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions. Occasional guest author Andromeda Yelton.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?: You are only asked to be yourself. Figure out how you can best help the world, and work towards that rather than comparing yourself to others. People can adjust to nearly any circumstance, so don’t be afraid to try new things.

Current Gig: Head, User Experience (UX), New York University Libraries

Current Mobile Device: iPhone 6

Current Computer:

Work: Macbook pro 13’ and Apple 27 inch Thunderbolt display

Old dell PC that I use solely to print and to access our networked resources

Home:

I carry my laptop to and from work with me and have an old MacBook Pro at home.

Current Tablet: First generation iPad, supplied by work

One word that best describes how you work: has anyone said frenetic yet?

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Communication / Workflow

Slack is the UX Dept. communication tool in which all our communication takes place, including instant messaging, etc. We create topic channels in which we add links and tools and thoughts, and get notified when people add items. We rarely use email for internal communication.

Boomeranggmail-I write a lot of emails early in the morning so can schedule them to be sent at different times of the day without forgetting.

Pivotal Tracker-is a user story-based project planning tool based on agile software development methods. We start with user flows then integrate them into bite size user stories in Pivotal, and then point them for development

Google Hangouts-We work closely with our Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campus libraries, so we do a lot of early morning and late night meetings using Google Hangouts (or GoToMeeting, below) to include everyone.

OmniGraffle: A more heavy duty tool for wire framing, IA work, mockups, etc. Compatible with a ton of stencil libraries, including he great Knoigi (LINK) and Google material design icons). Great for interactive interface demos, and for user flows and personas (link)

GoToMeeting– to broadcast formal usability testing to observers in another room, so they can take notes and view the testing in real time and ask virtual follow up questions for the facilitator to ask participants.

Crazy Egg-a heat mapping hot spotting A/B testing tool which, when coupled with analytics, really helps us get a picture of where users are going on our site.

Personas-To think through our user flows when thinking through a process, service, or interface. We then use these personas to create more granular user stories in Pivotal Tracker (above).

What’s your workspace like?

I’m on the mezzanine of Bobst Library which is right across from Washington Square Park. I have a pretty big office with a window overlooking the walkway between Bobst and the Stern School of Business.

I have a huge old subway map on one wall with an original heavy wood frame, and everyone likes looking at old subway lines, etc. I also have a map sheet of the mountain I’m named after. Otherwise, it’s all white board and I’ve added our personas to the wall as well so I can think through user stories by quickly scanning and selecting a relevant persona.

I’m in an area where many of my colleagues mailboxes are, so people stop by a lot. I close my door when I need to concentrate, and on Fridays we try to work collaboratively in a basement conference room with a huge whiteboard.

I have a heavy wooden L shaped desk which I am trying to replace with a standing desk.

Every morning I go to Oren’s, a great coffee shop nearby, with the same colleague and friend, and we usually do “loops” around Washington Square Park to problem solve and give work advice. It’s a great way to start the day.

What’s your best time saving trick

Informal (but not happenstance) communication saves so much time in the long run and helps alleviate potential issues that can arise when people aren’t communicating. Though it takes a few minutes, I try to touch base with people regularly.

I don’t think I do things better than other people, but I think my everyday strengths include: encouraging and mentoring, thinking up ideas and potential solutions, getting excited about other people’s ideas, trying to come to issues creatively, and dusting myself off.

What are you currently reading?

I listen to audiobooks and podcasts on my bike commute. Among my favorites:

Current Mobile Device: iPhone 4. I recently had a chance to upgrade from an old slightly broken iPhone 4, so I got….another iPhone4. I pretty much only use my phone for email and texting (and rarely, phone calls), so even an old iPhone is kind of overkill for me.

Current Computer:

Work: work-supplied HP Z200 Desktop, Windows 7, dual monitors

Home: (for my part-time gig): Macbook Air 11”

Current Tablet: iPad 2, work-issued, never used

One word that best describes how you work: relentlessly

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Klok – This is time-tracking software that allows you to ‘clock-in’ when working on a project. I use it primarily to track time spent working my part-time gig. My part-time gig is hourly, so I need to track all the time I spend working that job. Because I love the work I do for that job, I also need to make sure I work enough hours at my full-time job. Klok allows me to track hours for both and generate Excel timesheets for billing. I use the free version, but the pro version looks pretty cool as well.

Trello – I use this for the same reasons everyone else does – it’s wonderfully simple but does exactly what I need to do. People often drop by my office to describe a problem to me, and unless I make a Trello card for it, the details of what needs to be done can get lost. I also publish my CSUN Trello board publically and link it from my email signature.

Google Calendar – I stopped using Outlook for my primary job and throw everything into Google Calendar now. I also dig Google Calendar’s new feature that integrates with Gmail so that hotel reservations and flights are automatically added to your Google Calendar.

MAMP/XAMPP – I used to only do development work on my Macbook Air with MAMP and Terminal, which meant I carted it around everywhere – resulting in a lot of wear and tear. I’ve stopped doing that and invested some time in in setting up a development environment with XAMPP and code libraries on my Windows desktop. Obviously I then push everything to remote git repositories so that I can pull code from either machine to work on it whether I’m at home or at work.

Git (especially Git Shell, which comes with Git for Windows) – I was initially intimidated about learning git – it definitely takes some trial and error to get used to the commands and how fetching/pulling/forking/merging all work together. But I’m really glad I took the time to get comfortable with it. I use both GitHub (for code that actually works and is shared publically) and BitBucket (for hacky stuff that doesn’t work yet and needs to be in a private repo).

Oxygen XML Editor – I don’t always work with XML/XSLT, but when I have to, Oxygen makes it (almost) enjoyable.

YouMail – This is a mobile app that, in the free version, sends you an email every time you have a voicemail or missed call on your phone. At work, my phone is usually buried in the nether-regions of of my bag, and I usually keep it on silent, so I probably won’t be answering my mobile at work. YouMail allows me to not worry where my phone is or if I’m missing any calls. (There is a Pro version that transcribes your voicemail that I do not pay for, but seems like it might be cool if you need that kind of thing).

Infinite Storm – It rarely rains in southern California. Sometimes you just need some weather to get through the day. This mobile app makes rain and thunder sounds.

Physical:

Post It notes (though I’m trying to break this habit)

Basic Logitech headset for webinars / Google hangouts. I definitely welcome suggestions for a headset that is more comfortable – the one I have weirdly crushes my ears.

A white board I use to track information literacy sessions that I teach

What’s your workspace like?

I’m on the fourth floor of the Oviatt Library at CSUN, which is a pretty awesome building. Fun fact: the library building was the shooting location for Star Fleet Academy scenes in JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek movie, (but I guess it got destroyed by Romulans because they have a different Academy in Into Darkness):

My office has one of the very few windows available in the building, which I’m ambivalent about. I truly prefer working in a cave-like environment with only the warm glow of my computer screen illuminating the space, but I also do enjoy the sunshine.

I have nothing on my walls and keep few personal effects in my office – I try to keep things as minimal as possible. One thing I do have though is my TARDIS fridge, which I keep well-stocked with caffeinated beverages (yes, it does make the whoosh-whoosh sound, and I think it is actually bigger on the inside).

I am a fan of productivity desktop wallpapers – I’m using these right now, which help peripherally see how much time has elapsed when I’m really in the zone.

When I work from home, I mostly work from my living room couch.

What’s your best time saving trick When I find I don’t know how to do (like when I recently had to wrangle my head around Fedora Commons content models, or learning Ruby on Rails for Hydra), I assign myself some ‘homework’ to read about it later rather than trying to learn the new thing during working hours. This helps me avoid getting lost in a black hole of Stack Overflow for several hours a day.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else? Troubleshooting

What are you currently reading? I listen to audiobooks I download from LAPL (Thanks, LAPL!), and I particularly like British mystery series. To be honest, I kind of tune them out when I listen to them at work, but they keep the part of my brain that likes to be distracted occupied.

Editor’s Note: ACRL TechConnect blog will run a series of posts by our regular and guest authors about The Setup of our work. This is the second post of the series by one of our TechConnect authors Eric Phetteplace.

Location

Oakland, California, United States

Current Gig

Systems Librarian; California College of the Arts

Current Mobile Device

I use an iPhone 5S though mostly just for InstaPaper, TweetBot, and email (Mailbox). I’ve grown frustrated with iOS lately and I think my next phone will be either Android or, if I’m feeling experimental, Firefox OS.

Current Computer

Work:

2011 13in Macbook Pro with 8gb RAM and a 2.7 GHz i7 running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. I know many people are forced to use Windows at work and I feel fortunate be at a Mac school. The reduction in context shifts, even small ones like thinking about different keyboard shortcuts, is a serious productivity boon.

Home:

2013 13in Macbook Air, no extra CPU or RAM, running OS X 10.10 Yosemite. I love Macbook Airs, though their price tag is significant. The solid state drive is fast even when running virtual machines, it’s light and I move around a lot, and OS X is a fine operating system with a nice UNIX core.

Current Tablet

While I technically have an iPad at work, I have yet to use it in any substantive manner. I’m a horrible tablet user. How do you open the terminal?

One word that best describes how you work

Frenetic

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

At any given moment, I always have three applications open: a web browser, a text editor, and a terminal emulator. Those are my bread and butter and I’m not even too picky about the particulars, but I far prefer applications which are powerful and highly customizable to ones which have smart defaults but little configurability. Thus my editor and browser are weighed down by dozens of add-ons, and my shell’s dotfiles are extensive.

Alfred is an application launcher which I also use to store text snippets and do a few other things via plugins. I was a Quicksilver devotee for a long time but Alfred’s faster and simpler to set up. OS X Yosemite’s major Spotlight redesign makes that another choice in this arena.

1Password saves my randomized passwords & makes it easy to log in securely to the hundreds of websites that require accounts

Chrome with another host of extensions, including:

AdBlock because the Internet is terrible without it

Context because I have too many extensions, this lets me group them into modes (web development, research, video, none) I can switch between

Google Apps: Gmail, Drive, Calendar. They’re good applications and I use Takeout to assuage my fear of lock-in.

What’s your workspace like?

It’s important to have a standing desk. Mine is a VARIDESK PRO, though I’ve made due with stacks of reference books and cardboard boxes before. Sitting all day is awful, for both my health and energy level. While I will typically sit for a couple hours a day, I attempt to stand as much as possible.

Other than that, there’s not much to it. I don’t need a desk. I try not to collect papers. I like facing a window. Two monitors or two laptops helps, since I’m often performing multiple tasks at once. Reading documentation on one screen and coding/configuring on another, for instance.

I need coffee in my workspace. Or close by.

What’s your best time-saving trick?

Don’t be harried by emails or any notifications. The surest way to kill your time is to repeatedly switch contexts and spend time staring at settings, open tabs, code, etc. that you’ve forgotten the purpose of. Disable all but the essential notifications on your work computer and your phone.

Also, avoid meetings.

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?

I used Remember the Milk extensively at my last position but I used few of its features; all the tags, labels, notes, etc. I was filling in out of devotion to metadata more than utility. The only use was at the end of the year when I would run some self analysis on how I spent my time.

I like the flexibility of Trello. It’s both easy to quickly review items and to attach different types of information to them, from checklists to files. I have a few Trello boards for different areas of responsibility at work. For to-dos and bugs on code projects, I try to be good about documenting everything in GitHub, though I could improve. In my personal life, I have a few sparse sets of Reminders in Apple’s paired iOS and OS X apps. On top of all this, I find it useful to have a sticky note (either in OS X’s Dashboard or an honest-to-spaghetti dead-tree sticky note) of the day’s primary objectives.

It should be apparent that I have too many disparate to-do lists. I’ve actually migrated some to-do lists three times since starting my current position in June. I need to consolidate further, but there is value to putting personal and work to-do lists in separate places. My favorite to-do list software is whatever other people on my team are using. During my career I’ve worked very independently on very small teams so it has not been vital to share items, but I’ll take a clunky app that puts everyone on the same page any day.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?

Does coffee count? I don’t need much else.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?

I initially wrote “nothing” as an answer. It’s strange how many of these questions elicited negative responses. But upon further reflection, I came up with a couple things I’m good at. I wouldn’t deign to say better than everyone else, however.

I let data or others inform my priorities. While I am not unopinionated (understatement), I prioritize according to my supervisor’s needs or what our data indicates is important. I’m quite willing to humble myself before analytics, user studies, or organizational goals.

Also, recognizing opportunities for abstraction or automation. I’m good at seeing the commonality amongst a set of tasks or items and creating an abstraction to simplify interactions.

What are you currently reading?

I read two books at once, one creative and one analytical. Currently it’s mostly analytical books, though.

Pataphysics: a useless guide

Ambient Findability

some JavaScript books for a book chapter I thought I was going to write: JavaScript: the Good Parts, Standard ECMA-262 Edition 5.1, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

What do you listen to while you work?

IDM: Aphex Twin, Prefuse 73, Squarepusher, & similar

Dubstep: Burial, Clubroot, Distance, & similar

Black Metal: Krallice, Liturgy, Wolves in the Throne Room, & similar

whatever was released the last couple weeks, I listen to new music frequently just to see if there’s anything new I like

I like intense music without lyrics at work. It pumps me up without distracting from reading/writing tasks where I’m already absorbing language visually.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

Not to be tricky, but I dislike this dichotomy and every time I try to apply it to someone I end up misjudging their character, badly. Whether someone is outgoing is often contextual (see, for instance, Nicholas Schiller’s answer). While there are certainly shy people and social people, many oscillate in between. I like alone time. I can go without speaking to other people for days and be content. On the other hand, in a room of fun people I admire I want to talk endlessly.

What’s your sleep routine like?

My greatest weakness. I am not attuned to the regular 9-to-5 schedule. I like to stay up late and sleep in. In practice, this means I go to bed at midnight or later and wake up at 7 to get to work at 9. Sometimes post-work naps are required. I don’t get enough sleep. It wears on me.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.

Editor’s Note: ACRL TechConnect blog will run a series of posts by our regular and guest authors about The Setupof our work. The first post is by TechConnect alum Becky Yoose.

Ever wondered how several of your beloved TechConnect authors and alumni manage to Get Stuff Done? In conjunction with The Setup, this is the first post in a series of TechConnect authors, past and present, to show off what tools, tips, and tricks they use for work.

I have been tagged by @nnschiller in his “This is how I work” post. Normally, I just hide when these type of chain letter type events come along, but this time I’ll indulge everyone and dust off my blogging skills. I’m Becky Yoose, Discovery and Integrated Systems Librarian, and this is how I work.

Current Mobile Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, outfitted with an OtterBox Defender cover. I still mourn the discontinuation of the Droid sliding keyboard models, but the oversized screen and stylus make up for the lack of tactile typing.

Marcedit – I work with library metadata, so Marcedit is essential on any of my work machines.

MacroExpress and AutoIt – Two different Windows automation apps: MacroExpress handles more simple automation (opening programs, templating/constant data, simple workflows involving multiple programs) while AutoIt gives you more flexibility and control in the automation process, including programming local functions and more complex decision-making processes.

Rainmeter and Rainlander – These two provide customized desktop skins that give you direct or quicker access to specific system information, functions, or in Rainlander’s case, application data.

Pidgin – MPOW uses both LibraryH3lp and AIM for instant messaging services, and I use IRC to keep in touch with #libtechwomen and #code4lib channels. Being able to do all three in one app saves time and effort.

Jing – while the Snipping Tool in Windows 7 is great for taking screenshots for emails, Jing has proven to be useful for both basic screenshots and screencasts for troubleshooting systems issues with staff and library users. The ability to save screencasts on screencast.com is also valuable when working with vendors in troubleshooting problems.

CCleaner – Not only does it empty your recycling bin and temporary files/caches, the various features available in one spot (program lists, registry fixes, startup program lists, etc.) make CCleaner an efficient way to do housekeeping on my machines.

Janetter (modified code for custom display of Twitter lists) – Twitter is my main information source for the library and technology fields. One feature I use extensively is the List feature, and Janetter’s plugin-friendly set up allows me to highly customize not only the display but what is displayed in the list feeds.

Firefox, including these plugins (not an exhaustive list):

Echofon for Firefox (modified code since Echofon has discontinued their browser plugin) – This is reserved for my main Twitter feed. Lists are primarily in Janetter.

For server apps, the main app (beyond putty or vSphere) that I need is Nagios to monitor the library virtual Linux server farm. I also am partial to nano, vim, and apt.

As one of the very few tech people on staff, I need a reliable system to track and communicate technical issues with both library users and staff. Currently the Libraries is piggybacking on ITS’ ticketing system KBOX. Despite being fit into a somewhat inflexible existing structure, it has worked well for us, and since we don’t have to maintain the system, all the better!

Take a concrete box, place it in the dead center of the library, cut out a door in one side, place the door opening three feet from the elevator door, cool it to a consistent 63-65 degrees F., and you have my office. Spending 10+ hours a day during the week in this office means a bit of modding is in order:

Computer workstation set up: two HP LA2205wg 22 inch monitors (set to appropriate ergonomic distances on desk), laptop docking station, ergonomic keyboard/mouse stand, ergonomic chair. Key word is “ergonomic”. I can’t stress this enough with folks; I’ve seen friends develop RSIs on the job years ago and they still struggle with them today. Don’t go down that path if you can help it; it’s not pretty.

Light source: four lamps of varying size, all with GE Daylight 6500K 15 watt light bulbs. I can’t do the overhead lights due to headaches and migraines, so these lamps and bulbs help make an otherwise dark concrete box a little brighter.

When I work at home during weekends, I end up in the kitchen with the laptop on the island, giving me the option to sit on the high chair or stand. Either way, I have a window to look at when I need a few seconds to think. (If my boss is reading this – I want my office window back.)

What’s your best time-saving trick?

Do it right the first time. If you can’t do it right the first time, then make the path to make it right as efficient and painless as you possibly can. Alternatively, build a time machine to prevent those disastrous metadata and systems decisions made in the past that you’re dealing with now.

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?

The Big Picture from 2012

I have tried to do online to-do list managers, such as Trello; however, I have found that physical managers work best for me. In my office I have a to-do management system that comprises of three types of lists:

The Big Picture List (2012 list pictured above)- four big post it sheets on my wall, labeled by season, divided by months in each sheet. Smaller post it notes are used to indicate which projects are going on in which months. This is a great way to get a quick visual as to what needs to be completed, what can be delayed, etc.

The Medium Picture List – a mounted whiteboard on the wall in front of my desk. Here specific projects are listed with one to three action items that need to be completed within a certain time, usually within one to two months.

The Small Picture List – written on discarded Choice review cards, the perfect size to quickly jot down things that need to be done either today or in the next few days.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?

My wrist watch, set five minutes fast. I feel conscientious if I go out of the house without it.

It depends on what I am working on. I have various stations on Pandora One and a selection of iTunes playlists to choose from depending on the task on hand. The choices range from medieval chant (for long form writing) to thrash metal (XML troubleshooting).

Realistically, though, the sounds I hear most are email notifications, the operation of the elevator that is three feet from my door, and the occasional TMI conversation between students who think the hallway where my office and the elevator are located is deserted.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

An introvert blessed/cursed with her parents’ social skills.

What’s your sleep routine like?

I turn into a pumpkin at around 8:30 pm, sometimes earlier. I wake up around 4:30 am most days, though I do cheat and not get out of bed until around 5:15 am, checking email, news feeds, and looking at my calendar to prepare for the coming day.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.

You. Also, my cats.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Not advice per se, but life experience. There are many things one learns when living on a farm, including responsibility, work ethic, and realistic optimism. You learn to integrate work and life since, on the farm, work is life. You work long hours, but you also have to rest whenever you can catch a moment. If nothing else, living on a farm teaches you that no matter how long you put off doing something, it has to be done. The earlier, the better, especially when it comes with shoveling manure.